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Old November 16th, 2005, 12:26 AM   #1
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DIY (Homemade) Fig Rig Anyone?

Anyone have any luck building a homemade "Fig Rig" (with all due respect to Manfrotto of course!). I love the Fig Rig, but cannot afford it.

There has to be an off-the-shelf lightweight (aluminum?) 'circular tube' that I could use as the basis for creating my own Fig Rig. I know a welder who could easily secure the other parts -- I just can't think of what may work? Does anyone make a steering wheel that does not have anything inside the interior of the circle?

Thanks -- sorry for such an obtuse message.
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Old November 16th, 2005, 04:26 AM   #2
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An aluminium rim for a cycle wheel would be the obvious starting point?

Available in 16", 20" and upwards diameters in the UK.
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Old November 16th, 2005, 11:04 PM   #3
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There are people here that have built one.

http://www.dvxuser.com/V3/showthread.php?t=33841
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Old November 21st, 2005, 12:33 PM   #4
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I have been thinking about building one myself. You could cut a circle out of plywood to your own liking. Might be a bit heavy though.

You might also wonder why such a rig needs to be round. Why not use aluminum pipe or stiff PVC and build a rectangular shape with the assistance of molded corners? Perhaps a rectangular shape would better enable the shooter to keep the camera level when shooting.
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Old November 21st, 2005, 06:42 PM   #5
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A circular mold, some carbon fibre cloth/ribbon, a few ounces of West System Epoxy......
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Old November 22nd, 2005, 10:08 PM   #6
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How about just using some black bicycle handlebars like these:

http://texomacyclingcenter.com/site/...ls.cfm?ID=2883

Some foam handgrips on either side and a bolt-on camera mount in the center should do it.
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Old November 23rd, 2005, 03:27 AM   #7
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Yeah Laurence that's probably better than the fig rig! You'd loose the ability to mount stuff on the top but that'd probably be a lot lighter and it's cheaper and just as manuverable.
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Old November 23rd, 2005, 10:13 AM   #8
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is a "round" fig rig better?

I like the handlebar idea... but do people think using a non-circular (i.e., square, triangular, etc.) rig would work as well? Is there something especially useful/helpful with the round shape of the Fig Rig? (FWIW, I tend to doubt it, but perhaps someone who uses it can attest)

thanks for all of your good comments / suggestions.
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